


breathe

by IngridAnne24



Category: Jane the Virgin (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-09 02:45:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17993375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IngridAnne24/pseuds/IngridAnne24
Summary: Jane comforts Petra after she has a bad night.





	breathe

**Author's Note:**

> From a prompt list on Tumblr.

Petra had been through a lot of traumas in life, far more than a person should, but if there was one thing that her mother taught her that she took to heart was to push those traumas down and forget they happened. She was pretty good at it, but there was some things she couldn't forgot.

It had been five years since her long-lost twin sister used a drug to paralyze her so she could pretend to be Petra. For three months Petra was forced to watch her sister bond with her babies and kiss Scott, right in front of her, when Petra couldn't even move a finger. That was a troubling part of it, but not having any control over her own body when her mind was completely there. She didn't want to go into the more disgusting details of it, but lying there when her brain was screaming at her move, even a little bit, was maddening. All she could do was stare or sleep. Or plot Anezka's death. Or think about her daughters getting bigger while thinking their aunt was their mother.

For months afterward, she couldn't sleep. No, she could sleep, but she didn't want to. The act of falling asleep reminded her of Anezka administering the drug, which always knocked her out when it was first given to her. She would do things, late at night, to keep herself active, to avoid sleep. Coffee became her best friend until it made her jittery and sick.

Sometimes she couldn't help it, though, and she fall asleep at her desk or on the couch, and her brain would bring her back to that horrible time.

Slowly, it went away and she stopped having nightmares. She started sleeping again. Her life was relatively normal, for her. It had been six years since then and Petra was in a much happier place. She had a wonderful wife, three great kids, and a beautiful, but simple house (her wife's request). That whole experience was way, way in the back of her mind. The thing about trauma, though, it had the habit of rearing its head in inopportune times.

The night had started off the same; dinner with her family, followed by tv, then alone time with her wife until then both peacefully slipped off to sleep. Her first couple of dreams were normal, unmemorable. Then, her body, in the dream, started to slow down, like something was holding onto her. She looked back and there was nothing there, but her body continued to move slower and slower until she was barely moving. Then she just fell over and everything went dark. She thought she had woken up because her eyes opened, but she couldn't move. She was lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Then, peering down at her, was herself.

“Hello, beautiful sister,” came Anezka's voice. “You are awake.”

Anezka stroked Petra's hair back with her bony finger. “I will not hurt you.”

Petra tried to struggle, to get away from her sister, but it was no use. Nothing worked. She wanted to scream but not even her lungs worked right. She shut her eyes, trying to block Anezka from view. She felt a strong hand gripping her arm, but it didn't feel like Anezka. She tried to open her eyes, but they weren't opening. A strangled gasp came from her throat.

“Petra!”

Petra continued to struggle, her lungs starting to hurt from the sharp gasps. The hand on her arm gripped tighter.

“Petra, wake up!”

Her eyes finally opened and saw her wife looking down at her, eyes wife.

“Jane...”

Jane leaned down and pressed her forehead to Petra's. “Breathe, Petra. Just breathe, okay?”

Petra swallowed and forced herself to follow Jane's breathing. It took a couple minutes and by the time she relaxed enough, her head hurt and she was dizzy.

“You haven't had bad dreams in a while,” Jane said softly, pressing her lips to Petra's forehead.

Petra had no words, so she just wrapped her arms around Jane and hugged her tightly. One of Petra's favorite things was a hug from Jane Villanueva; she gave great hugs. Petra relaxed into it, breathing in Jane's subtle scent.

“Do you want me to hum to you, to help you fall back asleep? I used to do that for Mateo.”

Petra nodded. Jane had them both lie down and Petra tucked her head underneath Jane's chin, her ear near Jane's chest. Jane started humming a tune Petra didn't know, but it didn't matter.

“If you have another bad dream, I'm right here. Nobody will hurt you.”

She continued humming and while it took a couple minutes for Petra to let herself close her eyes, once she did, her body relaxed and she could already feel herself start to drift off. Any lingering fear disappeared—for now—as she felt the vibrations of Jane's humming and her strong arms around Petra's shoulders.

“Just breathe,” was the last thing Petra heard before she fell asleep.


End file.
